shape
carat
color
clarity

Advice needed with my choice and road to buying

Siyah

Rough_Rock
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It is almost certainly eye clean frrom about 6-12 inches away from your face. It may be clean closer up depending on your vision.

Would you say that that is good enough?

Or should I look for better stones?
 

Snowdrop13

Ideal_Rock
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Would you say that that is good enough?

Or should I look for better stones?
Why not just ask them if it’s eye clean? I’m pretty sure BN are able to look at the stone for you.
 

lovedogs

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Why not just ask them if it’s eye clean? I’m pretty sure BN are able to look at the stone for you.
BN drop ships sometimes so they might not be able to. But if I were OP I'd ask them to check just in case it's in house.
 

Siyah

Rough_Rock
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Why not just ask them if it’s eye clean? I’m pretty sure BN are able to look at the stone for you.

BN drop ships sometimes so they might not be able to. But if I were OP I'd ask them to check just in case it's in house.

Thank you very much. They called me and told me it's probably eye-clean, but they will do a check and let me know on Wednesday.

Until then, it's on hold for me, which is also nice.

In the meantime, I'd like to find myself some alternatives. Let's see if that's even possible :))
 

kmoro

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Thank you very much. They called me and told me it's probably eye-clean, but they will do a check and let me know on Wednesday.

Until then, it's on hold for me, which is also nice.

In the meantime, I'd like to find myself some alternatives. Let's see if that's even possible :))

Is there some reason that you’re staying away from Astor? I mean ... if you’re looking for ideal light performance, those are the ones that have the ideal of the ideal specs
 

Siyah

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Is there some reason that you’re staying away from Astor? I mean ... if you’re looking for ideal light performance, those are the ones that have the ideal of the ideal specs

Well, they are incredibly expensive. Especially when you would want the size I am looking for, or am I wrong?
 

Snowdrop13

Ideal_Rock
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I did a search with the tool above under “resources” looking for D-H up to Si1 stones and a budget at the level suggested, I can’t see anything bigger than 0.63ct. I think that BN stone is a good bet if eye clean!
 

Siyah

Rough_Rock
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I did a search with the tool above under “resources” looking for D-H up to Si1 stones and a budget at the level suggested, I can’t see anything bigger than 0.63ct. I think that BN stone is a good bet if eye clean!

Is there more, except for the Astor ones?

BTW: that link of BN, is that sparkling enough you think? Being excellent + ideal cut, would that be sparkling?
 

kmoro

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Well, they are incredibly expensive. Especially when you would want the size I am looking for, or am I wrong?

Unfortunately, you are right. The mark up over a regular “ideal” is huge ... I checked one and it was 38%! Yeah I can see why you would hesitate. However, the price of the Astor ideal was only $100 over a WF ACA with the same spec’s. That’s quite a discount to go with a regular “ideal” at BN. I checked WF virtual selection and the discount is closer to 10% over ACA for these spec’s. Huh. So my research says if you can find a nice non-Astor ideal at BN you can get a nice price too .... and the Astors are priced about like any super ideal. At the same time, the difference in the two diamonds I compared was quite visible as well.
Probably not a direction you would want to go, but based on the picture comparison, I would pay for the Astor ... it looks a lot better to my eyes (can see the arrows for example) and has proven light performance.

https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-comparison?compare=true

2E760C37-14E6-47C3-95AF-652960C12439.png
 

Siyah

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Unfortunately, you are right. The mark up over a regular “ideal” is huge ... I checked one and it was 38%! Yeah I can see why you would hesitate. However, the price of the Astor ideal was only $100 over a WF ACA with the same spec’s. That’s quite a discount to go with a regular “ideal” at BN. I checked WF virtual selection and the discount is closer to 10% over ACA for these spec’s. Huh. So my research says if you can find a nice non-Astor ideal at BN you can get a nice price too .... and the Astors are priced about like any super ideal. At the same time, the difference in the two diamonds I compared was quite visible as well.
Probably not a direction you would want to go, but based on the picture comparison, I would pay for the Astor ... it looks a lot better to my eyes (can see the arrows for example) and has proven light performance.

https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-comparison?compare=true

2E760C37-14E6-47C3-95AF-652960C12439.png

Hmm, but the two diamonds here are very expensive. If I would pay this much, I would choose a bigger stone for sure.

Anyhow, is the regular ideal, like the 0.6ct one that was shared here, not good regarding light performance? I mean yes, there is no proof whether it is good or bad, but if we would need to make an assumption; how bad would it be? Would it be possible that it does not sparkle at all, given the fact it's an ideal cut stone?

And what about this one?

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...f-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-4944015
 
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Matilda

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If you go to the tools tab on this site find the HCA tool and pug in the numbers for the BN 0.6 and the JA you just found. I can't do this unfortunately as I have used up my three uses. aThis will give you an idea if one or both will be okay for performance.

What type of setting are you looking for? It is important so as to factor it into the budget.
 

Siyah

Rough_Rock
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Dec 28, 2018
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If you go to the tools tab on this site find the HCA tool and pug in the numbers for the BN 0.6 and the JA you just found. I can't do this unfortunately as I have used up my three uses. aThis will give you an idea if one or both will be okay for performance.

What type of setting are you looking for? It is important so as to factor it into the budget.

A classic solitaire setting, with the diamond in the center and nothing else really.

Regarding the HCA score: what does a score like 0.7 mean? What is the meaning of it?
 

lovedogs

Super_Ideal_Rock
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A classic solitaire setting, with the diamond in the center and nothing else really.

Regarding the HCA score: what does a score like 0.7 mean? What is the meaning of it?

HCA is a rejection tool. Anything that scores over 2 means "reject". Any score under 2 means "possible accept, but need more info".
 

Siyah

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HCA is a rejection tool. Anything that scores over 2 means "reject". Any score under 2 means "possible accept, but need more info".

Thank you.

So, my score scores 0.7. But then I read this in the same tool, below:

Scores of 0-1 are usually not best for rings. Most people prefer stones that score 1-2, or even top Hearts & Arrows symmetry stones up to 3.0. Zero is almost impossible since many performance factors conflict.

So, it is not a good score, then?! Quite confusing. Can someone enlighten me, please?
 

lovedogs

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Thank you.

So, my score scores 0.7. But then I read this in the same tool, below:

Scores of 0-1 are usually not best for rings. Most people prefer stones that score 1-2, or even top Hearts & Arrows symmetry stones up to 3.0. Zero is almost impossible since many performance factors conflict.

So, it is not a good score, then?! Quite confusing. Can someone enlighten me, please?
Most people agree that anything under 2 is a potentially good stone. There's some evidence that between 1-2 is best for rings, since under 1 can look dark when you are looking at it very closely (bc of the light blocked by your head). Can someone post the gif/pic that @Garry H (Cut Nut) posts? I can't find it.
 

Siyah

Rough_Rock
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Most people agree that anything under 2 is a potentially good stone. There's some evidence that between 1-2 is best for rings, since under 1 can look dark when you are looking at it very closely (bc of the light blocked by your head). Can someone post the gif/pic that @Garry H (Cut Nut) posts? I can't find it.

Thank you, lovedogs. Have read it all, so my question would be then: what do you think? Would it be dark, based on the given details?


Depth 60.6%
Table 58.0%
Polish Excellent
Symmetry Excellent
Girdle Medium to Slightly Thick
Pavilion angle: 40.6
Crown angle: 34
 

SimoneDi

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Thank you, lovedogs. Have read it all, so my question would be then: what do you think? Would it be dark, based on the given details?


Depth 60.6%
Table 58.0%
Polish Excellent
Symmetry Excellent
Girdle Medium to Slightly Thick
Pavilion angle: 40.6
Crown angle: 34

OP these are the proportions of the 0.6 G SI1 that I recommended a few pages back. It is a gorgeous and completely eye-cleandiamond and those are beautiful proportions. I hope that you have it on reserve because I see that it is on hold now.

BN is a large and reputable company, there is nothing to worry about when shopping through them. They also have an excellent return policy, so it is risk free shipping form them. Their settings are also of good quality and most are made to last a long time. I would get the entire ring from them and not worry about sourcing a setting from a different jeweler. You will also have to pay a setting fee if a different jeweler sets the diamond and most wouldn't provide diamond insurance while in their possession, so it seems like a lot of additional effort and uncertainty when you can select a perfectly fine solitaire setting from BN.
 

lovedogs

Super_Ideal_Rock
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OP these are the proportions of the 0.6 G SI1 that I recommended a few pages back. It is a gorgeous and completely eye-cleandiamond and those are beautiful proportions. I hope that you have it on reserve because I see that it is on hold now.

BN is a large and reputable company, there is nothing to worry about when shopping through them. They also have an excellent return policy, so it is risk free shipping form them. Their settings are also of good quality and most are made to last a long time. I would get the entire ring from them and not worry about sourcing a setting from a different jeweler. You will also have to pay a setting fee if a different jeweler sets the diamond and most wouldn't provide diamond insurance while in their possession, so it seems like a lot of additional effort and uncertainty when you can select a perfectly fine solitaire setting from BN.
100% agree!
 

Siyah

Rough_Rock
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Dec 28, 2018
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OP these are the proportions of the 0.6 G SI1 that I recommended a few pages back. It is a gorgeous and completely eye-cleandiamond and those are beautiful proportions. I hope that you have it on reserve because I see that it is on hold now.

BN is a large and reputable company, there is nothing to worry about when shopping through them. They also have an excellent return policy, so it is risk free shipping form them. Their settings are also of good quality and most are made to last a long time. I would get the entire ring from them and not worry about sourcing a setting from a different jeweler. You will also have to pay a setting fee if a different jeweler sets the diamond and most wouldn't provide diamond insurance while in their possession, so it seems like a lot of additional effort and uncertainty when you can select a perfectly fine solitaire setting from BN.

Hello SimoneDi. Yes, I have it on hold and I am grateful for your help.

The only thing that I am worried about, is whether it is "sparkling" or not. I know that this is impossible to say, but we should surely be able to say something about it based on the numbers or am I thinking too simple now?
 

lovedogs

Super_Ideal_Rock
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It will be a good performer. I think you are worrying for nothing.
 

SimoneDi

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Hello SimoneDi. Yes, I have it on hold and I am grateful for your help.

The only thing that I am worried about, is whether it is "sparkling" or not. I know that this is impossible to say, but we should surely be able to say something about it based on the numbers or am I thinking too simple now?

This is what this community is here for! Yes, it is possible to say based on the numbers and the video of the diamond will be “sparkly” and this is one of those diamond. It is a symmetrical stone and the cut proportions of the stone are exactly where you want them to be for optimal performance (sparkle).

I looked again and I actually really like this stone even though it’s an SI2: https://www.bluenile.com/nl/build-y...DiamondDetails&action=newTab&catalogView=true
If you signup for BN newsletter, you will get €75 off so it brings the stone on budget. I prefer this stone over the G. The crystal looks crisper to me and the grade setting inclusion is not a cloud.
 

Siyah

Rough_Rock
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Messages
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It will be a good performer. I think you are worrying for nothing.

Thank you! This gives me confidence.

This is what this community is here for! Yes, it is possible to say based on the numbers and the video of the diamond will be “sparkly” and this is one of those diamond. It is a symmetrical stone and the cut proportions of the stone are exactly where you want them to be for optimal performance (sparkle).

I looked again and I actually really like this stone even though it’s an SI2: https://www.bluenile.com/nl/build-y...DiamondDetails&action=newTab&catalogView=true
If you signup for BN newsletter, you will get €75 off so it brings the stone on budget. I prefer this stone over the G. The crystal looks crisper to me and the grade setting inclusion is not a cloud.

Hmm, thank you for the info! What difference makes the inclusion being a cloud?
 

SimoneDi

Ideal_Rock
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Thank you! This gives me confidence.



Hmm, thank you for the info! What difference makes the inclusion being a cloud?

When the grade setting inclusion is a cloud, the diamond could potentially be a bit hazy. The GIA report is a dossier which doesn’t show the inclusion plot, so we don’t know how large the cloud is.
There isn’t a comment about additional clouds not being shown (which is a great thing) and the diamond will likely be gorgeous, but it is hard to estimate at 100%. If BN could comment if the grade setting cloud inclusion affects transparency, that will be good.

The F color diamond looks great to me, so you can also switch to that stone instead.
 
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Siyah

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When the grade setting inclusion is a cloud, the diamond could potentially be a bit hazy. The GIA report is a dossier which doesn’t show the inclusion plot, so we don’t know how large the cloud is.
There isn’t a comment about additional clounds not being shown (which is a great thing) and the diamond will likely be gorgeous, but it is hard to estimate at 100%. If BN could comment if the grade setting cloud inclusion affects transparency, that will be good.

The F color diamond looks great to me, so you can also switch to that stone instead.

Thank you, SimoneDi! I will check it with them and let you know.
 

Siyah

Rough_Rock
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@SimoneDi: where do you see the 75 Euro off offer? I can't see it (maybe per country?). Can you provide a link?

Next to that, are there also fine diamonds that would be similar to the above on James Allen?
 
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SimoneDi

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